


among stars and rifts

by SweetThings



Category: Voltron - Fandom
Genre: But he’ll be fine eventually, Chapters may contain triggers, Found Family, Multi, Original Character(s), With inter dimensional help of some, keith is sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-01 09:55:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18333635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetThings/pseuds/SweetThings
Summary: This fic is currently on Hiatus (sorry about that)When Keith decided to move to Daibazaal to run the Blades of Marmora from there, he expected things to go smoothly, if not for a few bumps here and there.He definitely didn’t expect to have such a hard time adjusting to his new life. Or to find company that would sitck around. Or to come across another inter dimensional problem.It is his life, though, so he will deal with it.(Keith is going through a depressive episode when he moves, so he will have to figure out how to deal with it while being away from the other paladins. Then found family comes along and helps our little boy to get beter)





	among stars and rifts

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! This is my first fic written for Voltron (yay) and in English, which is not my fists language, so please point out any mistakes so I can correct them.  
> I love Keith and I promise that he won’t be sad forever.  
> Also, I am using the AO3 nomination for the Hugo Award as an excuse to post this chapter that has been siting on my computer for days.  
> Please enjoy!

When Keith decided to move to Daibazaal, he had expected things to go down a little different than they did.  
Moving out of Earth wasn’t nearly as hard as he thought it would be. He didn’t have any relatives that he truly cared for out there, and Keith was pretty sure that people at Garrison mostly beard his presence because of his position as the Black Paladin. It’s not like he had actually made some kind of effort to blend in at his time there, anyways.

  
The hard part was, in fact, having to tell his friends that after everything that they had been though, he was going to move away from them.  
Keith did not want to leave them behind. He wasn’t running away from them, nor was he trying to disappear and never come back. He didn’t want any of that, but when he first broke the news over a dinner, that’s what everyone thought.

  
Keith was hurt, but he couldn’t blame them for thinking that. He wasn’t open enough with them. Keith never told them his aspirations, the reason why he stuck around and risked his life in a battle to save the universe. Keith probably did a terrible job at showing them that he cared too, because he was always bad with feelings and demonstrations of affection had never been his strong suit.

  
No, his strong suit had always been fighting and flying. He would get somewhere, pick up a few fights with either his fists or his words, then he would fly away and start it all over again.

  
That changed when he met Shiro, though. It changed again when he disappeared. And then again, when he met Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Allura, Koran, the Castle and Red. When he found out that they were given a mission. Keith couldn’t back away from that. He refused to.  
But that mission was over. Shiro was back, happily married to a guy that Keith had a very vague recollection of meeting before the wedding. Lanced, Pidge and Hunk found their families and had stablished lives on Earth. Allura, the Castle of Lions and the Lions where gone. Koran was too busy rebuilding and ruling Altea.

  
They all had a new purpose. Someone to return to. Keith didn’t have anything like that, at least not on Earth.

  
After the war ended, Kolivan passed the Blade of Marmora into Keith’s hands and launched himself into a swirl of diplomatic missions all over the universe. Keith tried to decline the offer, but the damage had already been done. By the time that he heard of the transfer, Kolivan had already jumped through a wormhole and was officially unreachable.

  
Keith decided not to whine, though. He didn’t think that he was ready, not by a long shot, but the Blades disagreed, and he saw there a new purpose for his life. He needed one of those.

  
After the Galra discovered that Daibazaal had been reconstructed, they promptly established themselves there. After nearly ten thousand years of being a race without a planet to call their own and fighting an endless war, most of them just wanted to live the rest of their lives in peace.

  
But it was not easy. Almost every former Galra occupied planet had sought revenge and launched an attack over them. It took a long time and a lot of talking to show them that they were doing the exact same thing they were punishing the Galra for.

  
The physical attacks had stopped, but the Galra where not forgiven. Everywhere they went, they were scolded at, yelled at, beaten. Thankfully, they had help.  
The Blades of Marmora were used to this kind of treatment. They had suffered the same things for years, and they knew what to do instead of fighting back. The Galra needed their help.

  
The Blades themselves needed some help, too. The entire organization had been created to end Zarkon’s tyranny. It had finally ended, after countless years of battles and losses. They had reached their goal, but it had a downside.

  
For the Blade of Marmora, the mission was the most important thing. Succeed on the mission or die trying. Your social life could suck, you could be sleep deprived or you could have lost someone you truly cared for two minutes ago. It didn’t matter. The mission came first.

  
But now, the mission had been accomplished. All of those soldiers, who knew nothing but war, nothing but a fight against a common enemy, didn’t know what to do. No one really thought about what would happen afterwards. The paladins brought peace to the entire universe, in a speed that no one could predict. No one was actually ready when it came.

  
The Blades were lost. The Galra wanted redemption. Neither of them knew what to do next. Keith decided to make that his purpose. He would transform the Blade of Marmora, give those soldiers a new purpose. He would show the Galra how to live quietly and peacefully. Keith would travel across the entire universe, just like he always wanted, and he would show everyone that things change.

  
If that meant that he had to move out of Earth and into Daibazaal, where all the Galra were and the new headquarters of the Blade of Marmora were installed, Keith would be fine with that.

  
He just hoped that his friends would be, too.

 

 

 

“I said that I’m going to be fine, guys, and I mean it” Keith said, his words muffled down on Hunk’s shoulder “Daibazaal is safe and I’ve got the Blades to protect me in case something happens”.

  
“Yeah, right, I bet they wouldn’t want their new leader to die a few weeks after getting nominated” Lance snorted, crossing his arms.

  
“It’s not about that, Keith” Pidge protested, giving Lance a punch on his arm for his comment. “You’re badass and all of that, and I know that the Blades will protect you, but we have the right to be worried. We are your family, and you’re moving out”.

  
“They grow up so fast” Koran whined and blew his nose on a handkerchief. “I feel like it was yesterday when you found out you were Galra, and now look at you. Moving to their planet, running the Blades” and a sniff.

  
Hunk finally released his tight grip on Keith’s shoulders and they parted just enough so Hunk could look into Keith’s eyes. Keith suddenly felt exposed without Hunk’s wide frame protecting him for everyone’s eyes, so he shrunk down just a little. Hunk pretended not to notice.

  
“Promise us you’ll take care of yourself” Hunk demanded, looking stern despite the tear stains on his face. “No crazy missions, no getting yourself in the line of fire over something stupid. You have to eat, sleep and stay hydrated too, because I know that you kinda forget of doing those things when you busy, but your health…”

  
“Hunk”, Keith interrupted him with a fond smile, “I’ll be fine, I swear. My mom’s going to be there too, and she makes sure that I do all of those things. I won’t be alone out there, guys, and if I miss you I can just wormhole my way over here”. Keith wasn’t sure whether he was trying to convince Hunk or himself.

  
“Okay” Hunk let Keith go and cleaned his eyes with his sleeves. “Okay. You’ll be fine. Got that”.

  
“I swear that I won’t disappear. Once in a while I’ll come and we will have dinner. We are family, no matter where we are”. Keith smiled to his friends, and he really hoped that they wouldn’t see the sadness behind it.

  
“Yes, we are” Shiro replied with a mirrored smile, and judging by the flicker of his eyes when he locked them on Keith’s own, he had seen it. Oh well.

  
“I am joking and all, but seriously Keith, take care” Lance said, looking everywhere but Keith’s eyes. “I agree with Hunk. You get kinda reckless sometimes, and we won’t be there to watch your back”.

  
“I know” Keith whispered, and turned his back to his friends so they wouldn’t see his watery eyes. It’s not like I haven’t been thinking that for three weeks now. “We are going to be fine. I swear. It’s going to take some time to adjust, but we’re going to figure it out”.

  
“We are” Shiro’s strong hand gripped Keith’s shoulder, and he felt like it was squeezing his heart. It hurt. “We will make it work”.

  
“I am really sorry to interrupt you, but we have to leave now, Keith” Krolia popped her head through the door frame. “We have to get to Daibazaal when it’s daytime”.

  
“Alright, everyone, come here” Koran called, momentarily putting away his handkerchief. The grip on Keith’s shoulder was gone, but his heart didn’t get the memo. He blinked a few times to get rid of his tears and turned around anyways, offering his friends a smile.

  
They formed a circle, and the fact that everyone could see him made Keith shriek down and hide himself even more in his uniform. Hunk cast him a worried glance, but Keith waved him off. He didn’t need the guy to be even more worried than he already was.

  
“I knew this time would come, but it does not mean that I am prepared for it” Koran said, puffing his chest and trying to contain the waver of his voice. “I live away from here, rebuilding the one place that I thought that had been lost forever. My home. And thanks to all of our efforts combined, the Galra regained their home too. I think that we all knew that you would leave some day, Keith, but I have to admit that this is sooner than later”.

  
“W-what do you mean by that?” Keith hated to shutter, but it happened sometimes. Usually when he was under very intense emotions, and being told that everyone expected him to leave caused an array of those.

  
“It’s not very hard to see that you are not that fond of Earth, Keith” Lance said, and Keith could hear the softness on his voice, like he was afraid of hurting Keith. He hated it. “You love space, and you love your Galra side too. It would be stupid of us to think that you’d stay, and try to force you to”.

  
“Your place is not here” Pidge said, smiling softly at him. “Not here on Earth, I mean, because you definitely belong at our side, but we don’t have to be on the same planet to be family”.

  
“I am sure you will be happy out there, Keith” Shiro added, giving Keith a gentle and playful nudge with his elbow on his ribs. Keith felt like the impact expelled all the air out of his lungs. He gasped and took a sharp intake of breath. Lance arched his brow at him, probably thinking that he was breathing funny to try not to cry. Keith could live with that.

  
“Just as a reminder, our monthly session of Monsters and Mana is still up, no matter where you live. Koran shows up, and he lives in Altea, so you have no excuses” Hunk stated, smiling at him. “But we won’t be mad if a mission or two get too messy and you can’t make it. Just don’t make it a habit”.

  
Keith didn’t like it. He felt his eyes star to prickle, he was uncomfortable in own skin and he was starting to feel more guilty by the passing second. His friends didn’t deserve to suffer just because he couldn’t deal with his shit.

  
When his vision got blurred, he turned to his side and starred at the blank wall of the Garrison’s Admiral office. Shiro’s office. It had been a while since he was there. Last time, Shiro had been bubbling with excitement over his engagement and Keith was in the verge of tears. He didn’t cry though, because he would never ruin Shiro’s happiness over something as stupid as his feelings. Another happy memory to keep.

  
Keith wanted to leave. He really, really did. He wanted to smile, wave and run off to the awaiting ship that would take him to his new chance at life. But he had to say goodbye first. Keith had to see the sadness and the pity on his friends’ faces. He closed his eyes hard, ignoring the flashes of light behind his eyelids, and prayed that the tremble he was felling wasn’t his own body giving in to the emotions.

  
“Oh my god, I think we broke him” Keith heard Lance’s voice, muffled down on his ears, like he was hearing it from under water, so cold that made him shiver. Before he could gather up strength to open his eyes, Keith was engulfed by something large and warm.

  
“We are here, buddy”. It was Hunk, whispering in his ear and bringing him back to surface just enough to feel his warmth through the cold that surrounded him. “You are fine”.

  
Keith wanted to believe him. He really, really wanted to. But it wasn’t easy when he felt like he was drowning, unable to swim to the surface to breath. He was stuck underwater, barely able to distinguish the horrible feeling from reality. His whole body shivered again, harder this time, and Hunk’s grip intensified.  
With all the strength he could gather, Keith forced his arms, heavy and unwilling to move, to wrap around Hunk. It was a loose grip, but was everything that he had. He didn’t feel like he deserved friends like this. That cared this much.

  
“Group hug!” Koran yelled, and Keith felt Hunk being thrown from side to side by his friends. His chest ached with something that he didn’t dare to name. The warmth that reached him increased, and he felt himself being pushed just a little bit closer to the surface.

  
It hurt. He loved them so very much, but he couldn’t stay with them. Keith, out of all paladins, was the only one who never actually found a place, and honestly, he was having a hard time believing that he even had one.

  
They had strong and loving families, jobs that they loved, and a place to call their home. Keith tried, really hard, to find things like that. But no matter how hard he tried, how far he looked, he just couldn’t find anything.

  
Earth was not for him. He had way too many bad memories from his place, ones that he would never get over. His soul and body were scarred, and he doubted that those would heal.

  
Earth was all about bad memories for him, but space was his safe place. Not all of his memories of their time as paladins were good, but the infinity of stars and planets made him feel comfortable. He felt like, somehow, he could finally find a place to call his home out there.

  
He had thought his decision very thoroughly before starting to make arrangements. Keith could run the Blades from Earth, if he really wanted to. It would be far from ideal, but with a little help from his mother and other trusted Blades, Keith could pull it off.

  
But he couldn’t stay. Not while the space called him, urging him to go back to its infinitude. Not when every step he took there made him think about every step that he took wrong. Not when the laughter of his friends reminded him that he didn’t have a reason to laugh like that. Not when he was… so broken. And being there reminded him exactly how he got to that point.

  
“Okay, I think it’s enough, guys”, Shiro’s voice cut though Keith’s thoughts, and slowly the pressure around Keith released. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. The light irritated his eyes, and he was pretty sure that the throbbing of his head would stay for a while, but he forced a smile anyways. His friends didn’t need to know.

  
“Make a safe trip, Keith” Pidge smiled and patted him on the back. “Just remember: there is a device inside your ship, below the control panel. It is an inter-stellar phone, just like the coms of our Lions. We all have one, so, no matter where you are, you can talk to anyone of us”.

  
“Yeah, I haven’t forgotten, but thanks again Pidge”. There was a lump int Keith’s throat, but he also ignored that.

  
Keith would leave with a smile on his face. It would be a bad one, and he was pretty sure that everyone was seeing right through his façade, but he had to keep it on. He doubted that anyone would let him leave if he didn’t look as certain as he wished he was.

  
“I guess this is it” Keith said, tentative around the lump in his throat. “Goodbye, guys”. His voice waved more than he wanted it to, but everyone had tears in their eyes, so Keith assumed he could get away with it.

  
“Not a goodbye, your dumbass. It’s a ‘See you soon’” Lance muttered, but smiled at him anyways.

  
“He’s right. See you soon, Keith” Pidge smiled up at him and adjusted their glasses. The reflection on it kept their eyes hidden, but Keith was pretty sure of having seen a tear threatening to roll down.

  
“I would hug you, but then you would have tear stains on that fine uniform of yours, so let me just give you a handshake” Koran said, extending his arm to Keith. He had to muffle down a laugh of the elder and his wavy voice.

  
“Don’t be stupid, Koran” Keith said, pulling the Altean to himself and wrapping his arms around him. “I don’t care about tear stains” Keith whispered just as another sniff came from Koran, who tightened his grip around Keith’s ribs. He could barely breath, but that was okay.

  
“Now, give me some space, Koran. You had your turn, now it’s mine” Hunk muttered, all but dragging Koran away from Keith. Hunk stopped a few feet away from Keith and looked him up and down. Keith shrunk down unconsciously, but tried to keep his eyes locked on his friend’s face.

  
After some excruciating seconds, Hunk threw his arms up and sighed, stepping closer and finally hugging Keith.

  
“Who am I trying to fool?”, Hunk muttered, “You are going to be fine and everybody knows that. Just make sure that you pass me your address, because every time that I’m around I’ll pay you a visit, and I don’t want to get lost in Daibazaal”.

  
“Sure thing buddy”. Keith hoped that the small giggle was enough to mask his strangled voice, but Hunk had learnt to read him way too well to not notice. Just as the guy stepped away, his mouth already open to say something that Keith did not want to hear, a strong had gripped Hunk’s shoulder.

  
Keith froze for the short time frame that it took for Hunk to turn around, nod and step out of the way. Shiro smiled at him and Keith felt like he was smiling down at him but that made no sense because he had grown considerably and now, he was about the same height as Shiro and he had no reason…

  
Calm down, Keith. Pull yourself together. You have to get over it.

  
This stupid feeling.

  
“Guess I am the last” Shiro was smiling, but just behind his eyes Keith could see the internal turmoil that he was going through.  _Same here._

  
“Yeah, you are” it was just above a whisper. “But you won’t get rid of me that easily. The Blades are using Earth as a bridge, so you’ll see me more that you expect”.

  
“Actually, I’m counting on that. It’s weird to think that after all his years, you are the on leaving to space this time around”. Keith felt more that heard the sad note to Shiro’s voice. It pierced his ears and went straight to his aching heart.

  
“You left, but then you came back”. Unconscious and without a single memory of their time together, but Keith tried to focus on the good part.

  
“I did, didn’t I” Shiro sounded like he was talking to himself so Keith kept his mouth shut. The entire room was filled with silence then, and for a few seconds Keith felt trapped. Everyone was looking at him, analyzing him, and Shiro was letting his eyes wonder through his frame, maybe looking for something that Keith didn’t dare to give much thought to.

  
“Again, sorry to interrupt”. Krolia sounded anything but sorry and Keith was so grateful for the interruption that he actually sighed. “We really have to leave now”.

  
“It’s fine” Shiro smiled again, less genuine this time, and extended his Altean arm to Keith. “See you soon, Keith. Have a safe trip”.

  
“I will” taking Shiro’s hand and shaking it felt weird to Keith in a way that he couldn’t explain. It was so… mechanical. When did they stop hugging again? In his opinion, a last goodbye was a pretty good occasion to hug your long-time friend, but he wouldn’t point it out. Keith looked around one last time, offering a smile that was being forced out of him.

  
He needed to leave them now, to move to another planet. He had already made them sad. Keith could at least go away with a smile plastered on his face, no matter how fake it would be.

  
“See you soon, guys” Keith whispered. His friends waved back, and before the guilt overwhelmed him, Keith turned to his mother as sighed. “I’m ready now”.

  
“I’m really sorry to have interrupted” Krolia said as soon as the door closed behind them.

  
“You’re not. And you don’t have to be” Keith didn’t feel like explaining, so Krolia didn’t ask. He appreciated. Since the neutron star, they had developed a really good relationship. They respected each other’s limits but were around whenever the other wanted to talk. Keith loved her, and offering her a smile to appease her worry was as natural as it would have been if they had spent his entire life together.

  
As soon as they got to the hangar, Keith moved through it with confident and even strides. On his wake, there were whispers about his leave. Some people tried to lower their voices when he got close, but others just blatantly stared.

  
He did not know how any of these people were. Heck, he probably would never see them again. And still, under their watchful gaze, Keith felt insecure. Like he was an illusion, perfect until you got close. He was pretty sure that none of them noticed him averting his gaze all around the hangar, or the way that his mother protectively got closer and stiffened her posture, noticing his discomfort and protecting him from the unseen threat.

  
He kept walking, though. One step at a time, until he was at the runway, facing the private ship that would take him and him mother to Daibazaal.

  
“Are you ready?” Krolia asked, searching Keith’s face for something. He nodded.

  
He could do this.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I don’t know when the next update will be because school is chaotic all day every day BUT I’ll try to write and edit the next chapter as fast as I can so don’t be mad at me <3


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